There are heaps of new books this week. Heaps!

The Dead Girls’ Dance : The Morganville Vampires Book Two, by Rachel Caine (248 pages)
Midnight Alley : The Morganville Vampires Book Three, by Rachel Caine (245 pages)
Feast of Fools : The Morganville Vampires Book Four, by Rachel Caine (242 pages)
Lord of Misrule : The Morganville Vampires Book Five, by Rachel Caine (244 pages) – These bring the library’s collection of these big-in-the-US vampire books up-to-date. The next book is due out this month, and book six is due later this year.

Damosel : In Which the Lady of the Lake Renders a Frank and Often Startling Account of Her Wondrous Life and Times, by Stephanie Spinner (198 pages) – The Lady of the Lake, as everyone knows, was the one who gave King Arthur his sword. This is as adaption of the myth with her as its central character.

First line: ‘I am so well versed in The Rules Governing the Ladies of the Lake that I could recite them backward on a dare, but the wisdom I treasure most was gleaned not from that vast, ancient compendium, but from my own earnest blundering.‘

Something, Maybe, by Elizabeth Scott (217 pages) – Hannah’s parents are famous and notorious, and she’s managed to live life under the radar. But! Nothing is ever that simple, especially with crazy parents and falling in lurve.

First line: ‘Everyone’s seen my mother naked.‘

Highway to Hell, by Rosemary Clement-Moore (357 pages) -Maggie Quinn and friend Lisa look forward to spending their spring break (which is a holiday in the US when everyone goes to the beach) in a waterfront hotel and taking a break from fighting evil. But! They get stuck in a small town in Texas, where weird, probably evil things are happening.

First line: ‘Some people think that Texas has only one season, that it’s summer all year long.‘

Walkaway, by Alden R. Carter (202 pages) – Andy is fed up with his family and decides to walk away, into the Wisconsin woods. His skills allow him to survive but can he escape own ‘emotional demons’? It’s like Man vs Wild but with a dysfunctional family.

First line: ‘I’m between the car and the garage door.‘

First Strike, by Jack Higgins and Justin Richards (295 pages) – Twins Jade and Rich have saved the life of the US President, and during a tour of the White House they find themselves embroiled in a potential third world war.

First line: ‘Rich watched the tanks rolling down the main street.‘

Jarvis 24, by David Metzenthen (255 pages) – So far, Marc E. Jarvis has lost a white football boot, a school tie and a best friend. But when he completes ‘work experience’ at a local car yard he is truly shaken up. Then he meets Electra and nothing will ever be the same again. (From the book cover)

First line: ‘I tend to worry, I know I do, but only because I think there is lots of things to worry about.‘

The Dust of 100 Dogs, by A. S. King (330 pages) – In the seventeenth century, ‘famed teenage pirate’ Emer Morrisey was cursed to have to live the lives of 100 dogs. Now, centuries later, she’s a contempary American teenager with only one goal; to dig up her buried treasure in Jamaica.

First line: ‘With one last, almighty roar, the Frenchman fell to his knees and died.‘

Freefall : Book Three of The Tunnels Series, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams (579 pages) – This follows Tunnels and Deeper in a series. A pretty popular series, too. Learn more about it all at the official website.

First line: ‘“Herrrrrph,” Chester Rawls groaned softly to himself.‘

The Thirteenth Child : Frontier Magic Book 1, by Patricia Wrene (344 pages) – Eff is a thirteenth child (bringing bad luck), and her twin brother is a seventh son (bringing good luck); I had to think about this for a few moments, but it does make sense. Their father is to be a professor of magic at the frontier (the magical divide that protects settlers from the beasts of the wilderness) and all kinds of crazy stuff goes down.

First line: ‘ Everybody knows that a seventh son is lucky.’

In brief:

Triple Shot Bettys In Love, by Jody Gehrman (249 pages)
Running on the Cracks, by Julia Donaldson (335 pages)
A Year in Girl Hell 2 : Dumped, by Meredith Costain (154 pages)
The Sweetest Thing : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (248 pages)